Germany seeks to rebuild its defensive forces with Iron Dome style missile defense systems

 Germany is moving to strengthen its defensive forces in the wake of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Bloomberg reported that the formerly demilitarized nation is planning to buy a missile defense system as it moves to modernize its military.

The German government is reportedly considering options that include the American manufactured THAAD missile shield and the Israeli-made Arrow 3 system.

This past week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz — the successor to Angela Merkel — discussed the modernization of Germany’s military with German Chief of Staff Eberhard Zorn. Subsequently, the German government earmarked $110 billion (100 billion euros) for additional defense spending.

Currently, Germany only has 12 Patriot anti-rocket units that are unable to provide the country with comprehensive defense.

The revolutionary, Israeli missile defense system — known as the Iron Dome — is reported to likely cost less than 2 billion euros and according to Marcus Faber, a member of the Free Democratic Party in the German parliament, production on such a system could begin immediately.

Faber indicated that no final decision about what missile defense system to use has yet been reached by the German government.

Germany isn’t the only country after Iron Dome technology in the aftermath of the Russian invasion. 

In late March, while addressing the Israeli Knesset, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy drew comparisons between the ongoing Russian invasion of his country to Nazi Germany’s attempts to exterminate the Jewish people, reported Reuters.

In doing so, Zelenskyy insisted that the Israeli government had an obligation to share its Iron Dome technology with Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said, “Everybody knows that your missile defense systems are the best, and you can definitely help our people, save the lives of Ukrainians, of Ukrainian Jews.”

Zelenskyy went on to question Israel’s commitment to reaching a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Ukraine since the country’s leadership opts to remain neutral.

“We can ask why we can’t receive weapons from you, why Israel has not imposed powerful sanctions on Russia or is not putting pressure on Russian business,” Zelenskyy said. “Either way, the choice is yours to make, brothers and sisters, and you must then live with your answer.”

According to the German news network n-tv, installing Iron Dome defense systems would enable Germany to proactively defend itself and a number of other nearby countries.

N-tv said, “The radar devices are so powerful that the protective shield could also cover Poland, Romania, and the Baltic States.”